Monthly Archives: January 2012

I finished the digital illustration I’ve been working on. It took all night and I still have to go to the printer to drop off my files so I’m going to go catch a few Zs before Collin wakes up. In the meantime… enjoy!

An update on my progress with the piece I’m working on. I’m having a lot of fun working on the fabric for these guys!

I need new postcards and prints for my trip to New York this week, so I only have one more day to work on this before everything gets sent to the printer. I’m going to tuck myself away in a corner at Panera tomorrow… I’ll need plenty of coffee and some good music… but it will get done. I’m looking forward to sharing the final result!

As you know from my previous post, I ordered and received my first Wacom tablet in the mail this week. I’ve only been using it for a few days but I am head over heels in LOVE!

Check out my “first” illustration in progress:

I’ve been working in Photoshop since (*cough*) 1997… and have even been teaching seminars and workshops on the program for the past few years. Knowing that, it is just plain ridiculous that I haven’t bought a tablet before now. RIDICULOUS! When I got it, I was expecting the normal 3-4 month adjustment period people claim that it takes to get used to using the thing… but oddly enough it fits like an old cozy glove.

I was expecting to pick up a few tips here and there… but I ended up watching all three hours in total amazement… taking notes feverishly the entire time. He is a MASTER at color. And, believe it or not, he does his illustrations using only about 2-3 tools in Photoshop. That’s it. He advocates becoming an illustrator in traditional media and then finding a way to create the same technique digitally (Props to traditionalists!). When you look at his previous acrylic work alongside his newer digital work you literally can’t tell one from another. It’s a beautiful thing in a world so smothered in digital art and it convinced me that it just might be the “medium” I’ve been searching for.

As soon as I got an hour or two into painting my illustration I was sold. I’ve been searching for a way to get the detail I need and want, without losing the raw beauty of the texture you see in traditional paintings. By adapting Will’s methods to suit my own style, I think I may have turned a really incredible corner with my technique and who I am as an illustrator.

I’ve still got a long way to go on this piece. The process for this technique is very slow and quiet. It is amazing to me how much it feels like when I work in colored pencil. However, it will be much easier to make corrections when I need to make changes. AND, I can get much richer color and incredible detail without worrying about the piece becoming muddy… something I’ve struggled with.

The Gods are beginning to take shape and I love all the “special moments” that are just starting to form in this illustration. I can’t wait to get back to work and finish this one… so I can move on to the next. It’s going to be a beautiful year… and I don’t think I’ll struggle trying to enjoy the process like I was before.